My thoughts

Would I recommend it? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

First off I want to say thank you to the publishers Atria (Simon & Schuster)for inviting me to read and review it because I had no idea she was coming out with another book, because at the time I got their message I only know of her one book she wrote last year The Winter Sister which I read and review as well and loved , in fact out of the two I would have to say that this one is my favorite simple because of how a bit dark and twist it was. And wow the way she wrote the father in this one , his not someone I would want for a father or for a family member in fact I wouldn't want to be in the same room with him. This story was dark and disturbing,as well as well as twisted and made me set on the edge of my bed because I couldn't stop reading it , which each of the page I had to know what was happening next. It also had me wondering if Fern really knew Astrid or if it was all in her head , and at times made me uncertain of things that she thought she was remembering. But it also had me asking what if they was actual memories then maybe she just leave them be, because we all know that when that type of door is open it can never be closed and bad things happen. On that note I think you should pick this one up and read it for yourself and see what happens, and I also want to thank NetGalley for letting me read and review it as well.

3.5 stars. This book kept me enthralled the whole time. The main characters anxiety was palpable and you felt it along with her for the entire wild ride. A nice, quick, anxiety ridden tale about family and trauma and how it shapes us.

Fern Douglas sees a news report one night that starts to trigger a sense of uneasiness about her past. There is a story about a woman who has gone missing.....again. Astrid Sullivan was kidnapped when she was younger, only to be found left on the street 2 weeks later . Her kidnapper was never found. Now it's years later and she has a memoir coming out telling all about her experience while kidnapped. Just as her book it about to come out she disappears. Fern starts to have memories which include small visions of Astrid. She doesn't know if they're real memories, or "memories" that she's forming based on reading Astrid's memoir. Fern starts to do some of her own investigating into Astrid's past and current disappearance. Astrid mentions a second kidnapped girl who spent 1 week in the basement with her and Fern starts to believe she is that girl. Fern is supposed to be helping her father pack up and move to Florida, but she's spending the majority of her time looking into disturbing details of her childhood and Astrid's kidnapping.

I enjoyed The Winter Sister and was looking forward to the second book from Collins, however it fell flat for me. I knew who the kidnapper was very early on in the story, it was pretty obvious to me. I don't think it's a believable premise. At all. I kept rolling my eyes and how naive Fern was being throughout the whole entire story. I really didn't like or connect with any characters in the story and found the whole story unbelievable. *Spoilers Ahead*
I absolutely could not stand her parents, Ted and Mara. They are both psychopaths. Being committed to your career or your "art" is one thing. Committing a felony is something completely different and I can't wrap my head around the fact that they would do something like that twice and then go on living their lives as if nothing ever happened. This book just wasn't for me.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.
Again Thank you for giving me an opportunity to review this book. I throughly enjoyed the book. I am going to be going back to this book for years to come. Can’t wait to recommend to my bookstagram pals. Thank you again for the chance to read and review this book.

Fern loves her daddy even though he was always distracted with his work. His research dealt with the effects of fear, and she was always part of his Experiments where he terrorized her for years in many ways then interviewed her about her feelings. Though she had always been truly afraid during the Experiments, his care during the follow up interviews made her feel important and loved. As she grew older the years she’d spent being tormented caused her to become anxious and develop nervous habits, but it never diminished her love for him.

When Ted called to ask for help packing for an upcoming move, Fern was thrilled because she believed he needed her. Once she arrived they took a trip to town where she picked up a book about a local woman who was kidnapped 20 years ago and was missing again. As reading about the kidnapping tugged at memories she’d long kept hidden, these remembrances began to turn her life upside down.

This book really bothered me. I can’t reveal what happened, but I can say I was not happy at how that particular situation ended. I also couldn’t understand how, as an educated Social Worker, she was so ignorant about her own father. I liked the suspense, and how she gave Fern a wonderfully loving and supportive husband.

I gave it 3 stars for its twists and turns, and will recommend it to Adults.

I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.


I'm so sad this is over! It seriously felt like it flew by to me. This is the kind of book that when you're not reading it you're constantly thinking about it. It stays with you. It's one of those books that you need to know what's going to happen - and so many times I thought I knew for sure what was going on only to continue being surprised.

I loved the story. So much of the information on the kidnapping made me actually feel uncomfortable and scared - it felt so real to me.

Everything about this was enjoyable especially if this is your genre. Would highly recommend. Can't wait to see more by this author 😍😍

This book was not great. You could see the reveal behind the kidnapper a mile away and I refuse to believe that the conversation that takes place between Fern and two individuals, that they would have just let her walk away after she learned their secret.

A child was kidnapped twenty years earlier and then returned. No one was ever arrested for the kidnapping and now, after writing and publishing a book about the kidnapping, she is gone again. Fern Douglas, a Social Worker by profession, who was raised in the most dysfunctional family ever, is married to a Pediatrician and has been contacted by her father and told that he is moving to Florida and that he needs her to come up and pack her mother’s things for her own relocation. Her mother is on a yoga cruise and is going to move her art studio which is what lead to her father’s decision to relocate. When Fern gets to her father’s home, she learns about the current disappearance of Astrid, the victim of the earlier kidnapping. She begins to have memories of the earlier kidnapping and is uncertain about how true they are. The novel deals with all of the characters, most of whom are tremendously unlikable, throughout. It is very well written and well plotted and will engage the reader from the onset. Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, but it was very predictable. I figured out who the kidnapper was a few chapters in. Luckily, there are so many twists and turns and other suspects that it makes you question even if you do figure it out quickly.

The writing was excellent - some of the best I've read in a long time. So many sentences were so poetic and Megan Collins really understands the concepts behind psychological issues and anxiety.

It's a little slow at the beginning, but I couldn't put it down toward the end. I stayed up late finishing the book. Overall, I definitely recommend reading Behind the Red Door. I look forward to reading more of Collins' work.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*

OMG. I just finished this novel. And I started it 4 hours ago!! Seriously y’all... wow. Megan Collins outdid herself with this one. Literally I could not put it down. The characters were phenomenal, they felt so real. And I never saw the ending coming which makes it that much better! READ THIS NOW!

I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced digital version of this gripping psychological thriller in return for an honest review.

I loved this book!

Astrid Sullivan was made famous when she disappeared at fourteen years old, only to be returned unharmed weeks later. Now, twenty years later, Astrid has gone missing again. Has the kidnapper come back? Fern Douglas recognizes Astrid, but can't figure out how. She goes back to her hometown to help her crazy father back his belongings for his move. While she is there, she tries to uncover her memories of Astrid.

This book had me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I had something figured out, I was proved wrong. I love the dad's character. He was nuts, but made the book so interesting.

I would defintitely recommend this book to anyone!

Thank you for the ecopy of this book. I will be posting a full review on Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram! Many thanks.

Family bonds and secrets brought to light. How far will you go to protect your loved ones? Really loving the authors writing style. This was so creepy and thrilling.

Astrid Sullivan escaped her kidnapper almost twenty years ago, but now the Maine woman had been kidnapped again. Fern Douglas sees the story on the news and is overcome with the belief that she knows Astrid, and not just from the stories about her earlier kidnapping. Returning to her childhood home in New Hampshire to help her father with a move, Fern reads Astrid’s memoir and believes she has a real connection with the woman. Luckily, Ferns father is a psychologist and is able to help her work through her feelings but as she does, she uncovers some very unpleasant truths about her past. Be prepared for a shock in this firecracker of a novel

A gripping read was drawn right in Fern sees an article about a missing girl and is sure she knows,A book with so many twists and turns it kept me racing through the pages.A book that shocked till the last page.,Megan Collins is an author who never fails.#netgalley#atriabooks,

By the end of the first chapter, I was spellbound by this dark, haunting story. As if Fern didn't deal with enough growing up in a twisted household, she finds bits and pieces of memories popping up, linking her to an unsolved kidnapping years ago. Or was it all a dream? Caught between reality and her spiraling anxiety, Fern struggles to uncover the truth. I could not put this one down and devoured it in two days. The first book from this author for me and I'll surely be back for more!

Behind the Red Door is a deeply twisted psychological thriller with plenty of family drama. Unfortunately, it was quite predictable. I figured everything out within the first half of the book. I was hoping I was wrong and waited for the big twist that sadly never came. The ending was a huge letdown for me. I wanted something more to happen, something that would've been more akin to justice. I felt that Fern should've been allowed more of a finale, more strength, and it just fell short for me. Fern just felt traumatized and repressed the entire book, and I was so hoping she would finally get her warrior moment.

I wouldn't say that Behind the Red Door is a bad book, but I personally didn't enjoy it. There were creepy factors to this story, and the abduction was quite horrifying to read about. Abuse on any level is hard to read about. I did feel this was well-written and definitely eerie. Behind the Red Door delves into the darkness that can lurk behind closed doors. I just wish it wasn't so predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

Everyone loved The Winter Sister and now author Megan Collins brings us Behind The Red Door. The premise is that Fern, our main character, feels that she has a connection to a case of a missing woman. How is she connected? Does she really know Astrid, the woman who has been abducted? Or maybe this was all just a nightmare? Who knows?!

Take a look:

When Fern Douglas sees the news about Astrid Sullivan, a thirty-four-year-old missing woman from Maine, she is positive that she knows her. Fern’s husband is sure it’s because of Astrid’s famous kidnapping—and equally famous return—twenty years ago, but Fern has no memory of that, even though it happened an hour outside her New Hampshire hometown. And when Astrid appears in Fern’s recurring nightmare, one in which a girl reaches out to her, pleading, Fern fears that it’s not a dream at all, but a memory.

Back home in New Hampshire, Fern purchases a copy of Astrid’s recently published memoir—which may have provoked her original kidnapper to abduct her again—and as she reads through its chapters and visits the people and places within it, she discovers more evidence that she has an unsettling connection to the missing woman. As Fern’s search becomes increasingly desperate, she hopes to remember her past so she can save Astrid in the present…before it’s too late.

I love the author’s writing style, she’s very creative and this book was paced well to keep the reader turning the pages quickly. This book was at times, disturbing.

If you pre-order here, the book will be magically delivered on August 4!

Thank you, Net Galley for the electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is an excellent psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing throughout. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Collins introduces new facts. The author cleverly introduces many characters that could be the antagonist. Very well written and a super quick read, as the reader needs to know what’s happening next all the way to the happy ending. Five stars for this fabulous thriller!

Megan Collins’s debut novel, The Winter Sister, was filled with gorgeous prose and a story that was spellbinding, atmospheric, and deeply touching. Her sophomore novel, Behind The Red Door doesn’t disappoint. Collins’s writing is highly evocative as she details a distressingly abnormal family that somehow produces a daughter, Fern, who is strong and resilient, though flawed with an anxiety that at times is paralyzing. She suffers from traumatic amnesia related to kidnapping that occurred twenty years earlier and she may hold the key to saving a kidnapping victim.

Behind The Red Door is a gripping, twisted thriller filled with insights into fear of ourselves, others, and horror movie staples: deep dark forests, isolated cabins, nightmares, and the inability to know who you can trust. The New England countryside itself becomes a disturbing character. The red herrings were subtly laid and entirely believable.